


I'm Staying

by Akiko_Natsuko



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 20:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18432005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: The smell greets him first as he steps into the living room.The usual hint of fresh rain on spring leaves, deepened to the heavy feeling of rain in the air before a thunderstorm, and he falters, nose flaring as he takes in the change in the air. He can still detect the trace of citrus and spice, that belongs to Lúcio. Although it’s shifted too, more citrus than spice, and stronger, to the point where he feels that he can taste it on his tongue, and he can’t help but move forward, chasing the scent. He’s barely taken two steps, before there’s a low snarl and he freezes at once, torn between shock and incredulity, fighting back the sudden instinctual need to echo the sound.





	I'm Staying

 

The smell greets him first as he steps into the living room.

    The usual hint of fresh rain on spring leaves, deepened to the heavy feeling of rain in the air before a thunderstorm, and he falters, nose flaring as he takes in the change in the air. He can still detect the trace of citrus and spice, that belongs to Lúcio. Although it’s shifted too, more citrus than spice, and stronger, to the point where he feels that he can taste it on his tongue, and he can’t help but move forward, chasing the scent. He’s barely taken two steps, before there’s a low snarl and he freezes at once, torn between shock and incredulity, fighting back the sudden instinctual need to echo the sound as his eyes dart across to the bedroom door.

“Lúcio?” He called, not entirely able to keep the growl out of his voice. _Mine._ It’s an annoying, niggling thought that itches beneath his skin, and he shifts uneasily from foot to foot, needing to do something to stop himself from bowing to that thought or from doing or saying something he will regret later. “Lúcio, it’s just me…it’s Baptiste.” His voice softens. Drops. Stating the obvious, as memory stirs and he remembers being warned that heats can mess with an omega’s mind, making it hard for them to recognise anyone apart from family or their mates. Baptiste isn’t the first, and he’s not the second just yet…in fact, he’s not sure what he is right now, and that realisation fans his agitation, and he needs to do something, the itch almost unbearable at this point.

    He wasn’t aware of moving forward, but there’s no missing the snarl, louder this time. A warning. A threat. And there’s copper in his mouth now as he bites down on a growl of his own. It’s been a long time since he’s been around an omega. A very long time and he has no intention of letting some base instinct control him. Especially not with Lúcio. He takes a deep breath, and immediately regrets it as the scent flows in, alluring and all-consuming and Gods, he wants. He wants more than he ever has, and it’s a miracle that he manages to turn around, walking on stiff legs towards the small kitchenette instead of the bedroom.

    It takes him a couple of minutes, his jaw clenched tight enough to ache as he calms himself by putting away the food, he’d gone out to buy, slamming cupboard doors with more force than is necessary, before he feels that he can trust himself to speak.

“I think I’ve bought enough food to last us a month,” he called, eyeing the fridge as he closes the door. He had been caught off guard when Lúcio had all but kicked him out of bed that morning, scent already shifting, and a hint of panic in the strained request for him to go shopping, and that had translated into him going overboard. He was used to being prepared; it was how he had survived this long after all. Although he supposed that he should be used to it by now, especially when Lúcio was concerned, as the other medic had been an unprecedented addition to his life from the moment they’d met. “I even picked up those Tenjung fish sticks that you love.”

    There was no reply, and his shoulders fell and gathering himself he cautiously moved towards the bedroom once more, heartened when this time there was no snarling. “Lúcio?” He called again, pausing a short distance from the door, and sternly squashing the part of himself that wanted to dart forward, taking a deep breath as he waited, this time pausing to savour the scent. Trying to acclimatise to it, so that he wouldn’t do anything foolish if or when Lúcio let him in, and…

“Baptiste…” There was still a trace of a snarl in Lúcio’s voice, so different from his usual upbeat tone that Baptiste only dared to take a half-step forward before pausing again. Waiting. “Please…” It takes less time for Lúcio to break this time, the plea more growl than whine, and the stormy scent seems to intensify. Calling to him, and now that he has permission Baptiste is quick to chase it, several quick steps carrying him to the doorway, and he knows there must be a hint of wildness in his eyes as he forced himself to pause again.

    It’s not hard to find Lúcio. It would be easy to believe that he hadn’t moved after he’d kicked Baptiste out of bed a couple of hours before, as he’s still curled in the middle of it. However, it’s clear that he’d been busy. The wardrobe door hanging open, and every item of clothing they’d had between them, which wasn’t much considering this was supposed to have been a quick break before duty pulled them apart again – and every piece of bedding and even the towels from the bathroom had been piled across the bed. At first glance, it looks like a jumbled mess, but when he blinks and takes a second look, he can see that it’s been arranged around the edge of the bed, leaving as much space as possible in the middle. _Large enough for both of us,_ he thinks approvingly, before realising where his thoughts are gone. Then there is the fact that his clothing is nearer the top, while the towels and spare bedding that wouldn’t hold much of either of their scents had been relegated to the bottom of the bed.

_A nest._

    It’s not the first time he’s seen one, although it has been a while. However, it cools his impatience, as he waits for Lúcio to realise that he’s there because there is no way he’s going to intrude on a nesting omega, especially Lúcio, and not just because he knows that he would lose that altercation. Remembering the time, he’d had to patch up a Talon agent who hadn’t heeded that unspoken rule, the man had been left with a nasty scar across his face, and Baptiste had to be ordered to help him, baulking at the very idea. It still left an unpleasant taste in his mouth to think about it, even if the Talon agent had swiftly disappeared after that, and there was no way he was moving a single step until he had permission.

    It didn’t make it any easier to stand there and wait though, because Lúcio’s scent which was always alluring was now a hundred times more potent, and he found himself having to rhythmically clench and unclench his fingers as he waited. Finally, though Lúcio stirred, lifting his head, and Baptiste felt a fresh surge of possessiveness as he realised that his partner had been curled around his serape and that Lúcio was clinging to it even as he sat up, nose flaring and a lighter growl rumbling in his chest. His eyes were hazy, but not enough to have Baptiste worrying about how aware he was of what was going on, and it gave him the courage to step forward, refusing to react to the growl.

“Can I come in?” He doesn’t want to ask, he doesn’t want to need to ask, but he did, pausing half a step into the room until he got a tiny nod from Lúcio. He allowed that to carry him to the edge of the bed, letting his eyes rove across the nest, privately making a note that next time… if there was a next time, he reminded himself sternly, to make sure that they had a better selection of materials. Lúcio was watching him carefully, eyes tracking every movement, a fierce light in his eyes that had Baptiste pausing again and dropping down into a crouch. “Can I hold you?” He asked, voice a low rumble, instinctively adopting the lower timbre of an alpha trying to soothe a mate, and he wrinkled his nose a little, not sure how he felt about that. Although it seemed to help, as something softened in Lúcio’s expression although he still hesitated for a moment before nodding, a tiny jerky movement, as though he wasn’t entirely sure. “Can you say it aloud?” Baptiste prompted, not moving because there was no way he was going to rush in and ruin things just because of a biological quirk.

“Please…”

“Please?”

“Baptiste.” There was a hint of a snarl in those words, but it wasn’t that of an irate omega in heat, but rather the same impatience that Lúcio had shown when he’d had enough of waiting for Baptiste to kiss him for the first time. Back then, it had resulted in Lúcio hauling him down into a heated kiss just before stepping out on stage, not caring that people could see them. It was also a tone that Baptiste had heard multiple times since then, although he was learning to obey it, and now was no different as he slowly stood and inched closer. There was no growl this time. Just Lúcio watching him intently.

     He toed off his boots, before carefully crawling onto the bed, earning a low grumble when he knocked a towel out of place, and he dutifully replaced it, smoothing it back into place until he won an approving nod from his partner. Even now he was careful as he shifted up the bed until he was sat next to Lúcio, taking deep, steadying breaths because this close there was no escape from Lúcio’s scent, and his mouth was almost watering. A soft noise, not quite a whine, but close and twice as demanding was the only warning he got before Lúcio all but collapsed against him, pressing in close. And it was such a Lúcio move – something he did whenever they were together, that Baptiste lost his hesitation, moving his arm to wrap it around Lúcio and pull him further into his side.

   This close there was no missing the heat coming from Lúcio, or the minute tensing of his entire body every once in a while, as his stomach cramped up, and before he could second guess himself, he had moved his arm lower so that he could rub soothing patterns across Lúcio’s abdomen. Lúcio hummed at the sensation, all but melting against him, and it settled the whisper of _‘mine’_ that had still been playing at the back of his thoughts. “I’m sorry,” Lúcio murmured eventually after they’d sat there for a few minutes. “I know this wasn’t what you had in mind.”

“It wasn’t,” Baptiste admitted, knowing better than to deny it. “But that doesn’t make it a bad thing,” he pointed out, feeling Lúcio shifting as though about to pull away.

“I…”

“It was something we needed to talk about anyway because it was always going to happen at some point,” he interrupted, soft but firm, having learnt the hard way not to let Lúcio get something into his head. Neither of them had made any bones about their alignment, but it had been a mutual agreement not to allow it influence anything until it had to, they just hadn’t discussed what they were going to do when it inevitably did come into play. An oversight he was regretting now as he caught a glimpse of Lúcio’s frown.

“I know,” Lúcio huffed, and Baptiste was quick to smother a grin. For all his skill in winging situations, Lúcio preferred to have a plan in place, and it seemed like this heat had caught him just as off guard as it had him. Although considering the stress of being in the field, and balancing his concerts and meeting with Baptiste, perhaps that was to be expected. “I contacted Winston, to let him know I would be gone a little longer than planned.” He didn’t bother asking how that conversation had gone, well aware that Lúcio’s teammates were still a little wary of him because of his former associations, and as much as he didn’t like it, he couldn’t blame them.

“So, that means I have you all to myself?” He said instead, lips quirking up into a grin as Lúcio glanced up at him in surprise. “Did you really think I was going to leave? Unless you wanted me to, of course…?” He makes it a question, although he doesn’t want to ask.

“No, I…” Lúcio is quick to deny that, shaking his head. “I want you to stay. It’s just…”

     Baptiste doesn’t let him finish the thought, knowing that Lúcio is thinking about his dedication to being in the field, and if he’s honest there’s a slight uneasiness that comes from knowing that he isn’t out there. However, right now, he was exactly where he wanted to be. And he’s firm but gentle as he tugs the other man down within the protective ring of the nest, careful not to knock anything else out of place, although he winces, having a feeling that he’s not going to be so lucky for the entire time. It’s easy enough now to pull Lúcio down against him, Lúcio curling willingly against him with a sigh of relief that betrayed how much it had been costing him to try and keep pushing through.

“I’m staying,” Baptiste said, curling an arm around him once more as soon as Lúcio was settled, leaving him in no doubt about that. Although considering how Lúcio had all but melted against him, sprawled over him, there was no way he was going anywhere even if he’d wanted to, and he smiled, finally allowing himself to bury his nose against Lúcio and drink in the beautiful scent. There’s more to be talked about, a lot more, but for now, he was content to be like this and feeling Lúcio’s breathing already easing out, he knew that he wasn’t the only one.


End file.
